ELK MOUNTAIN BREWING

Parker, Colorado

The Story of Downhill

Skier Jake Minturn was flying through the trees near Radical last winter at Arapahoe Basin when he emerged onto the High Divide Terrain Park and slammed directly into snowboarder Doug Hyndman, who was bombing the hill. “We took each other down. It was basically a yard sale,” says Minturn. “Neither of us was hurt, but we exchanged a few not-so-nice words.” Later, at the lodge, Minturn saw Hyndman again and apologized for his part in the collision. The two got to talking about beer since they were both wearing Colorado brewery apparel, and by the end of the day, they’d decided to open a brewery together.
But rather than start from scratch, Minturn, who has managed the taprooms at Joyride Brewing and Copper Kettle, and Hyndman, the former brewery operations director at Dry Dock in Aurora, have purchased Elk Mountain Brewing, which was founded in Parker almost seven years ago by Tom and Marcia Bell. The Bells put the brewery up for sale last fall so they could retire.
Minturn and Hyndman will keep the Elk Mountain name until the federal Tax and Trade Bureau approves their request to change it — in about six months or so. Then they'll change the name to Downhill Brewing, as a nod to the way they met on the slopes and to give the brewery a ski and snowboard theme.

The Bell History

Elk Mountain Brewing was established in April of 2009, owned and operated by Tom and Marcia Bell. Tom’s passion for beer all began while visiting his brother, Steve, in Germany. With this new found passion he took an internship with Tabernash Brewing. Between home brewing and years in the industry, there was a high demand from family and friends for his beers. With a little push from his wife, Marcia, it only made sense to take his brewing to the next level and Elk Mountain was born. Seven years later Elk Mountain has become a pivotal cornerstone in the Parker community known for good times with good beers amongst family and friends.